Twisted Metal (series): It's stupid, but it's entertaining

It seems as though they will turn almost anything into a series these days and while I was quite young, I do recall this being a very popular game when I was a kid. I don't recall there being much in the way of an actual story in the game though so that kind of made me even more curious as to how they would possibly turn it into a series.

I'm around 7 episodes in and even though I cannot stand Anthony Mackie, the series has ended up being entertaining and action packed. The story elements of it, well, they are trying to make that a thing but mostly it is all about the road warrior life and it all is based around major cities where life is good for the elite while the rest of the world has to fend for themselves in the wastelands.

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The story centers around "John Doe" (Mackie) and he is a "milkman" which just means that he is a fast-paced delivery driver that goes from colony to colony delivering packages while avoiding the dangers that exist between the two places. For this he is paid in weapons and gasoline and like you would expect, he is a Fast and Furious style driver and I think that this was their main motivation for making this series in the first place.

While his car isn't one that I actually remember from the game, this might be intentional as they gradually introduce other vehicles from the game into the series. I don't remember a great deal about the game but thus far I have seen two vehicles that I do recall from the game.

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The one that people will likely remember the best is "Sweet Tooth" and he is introduced quite early on and becomes a main character. He is seen as the boss of now abandoned Las Vegas and while he is brutal and scary, he is actually a nice guy that just hates authority. This was an interesting twist on the character and up to this point, he is the most interesting character of the lot.

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A great deal of the action takes place outside of the vehicles and this is probably a good thing because there is honestly only so much that can be done with cars driving around and shooting mounted machine guns at one another. It is also likely the most expensive part of production so it may have been a necessity.

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Another face you might remember is Agent Stone who is played by Thomas Haden Church, who at least in my mind will always be Lowell from Wings although he has been in a lot of other things including one of the Spiderman films.

Should I watch it?

I don't think you need to be a fan of the games or even familiar with them in order to appreciate this series. I believe that they intentionally didn't include much of the gaming lore so as to not scare away potential viewers. Knowledge of the game is not at all necessary to understand this show. Actually, it is low-brow and low-intelligence viewing just like Fast and Furious films so I don't think a great deal of understanding about anything at all is really necessary to enjoy this. I am quite delighted to say that I actually don't even hate Anthony Mackie in this even though for the life of me I can't think of a single other role he has been in that I have enjoyed.

This is mindless fun and the episodes are short enough that you can enjoy a few of them a night.

Don't expect any Emmy's to come out of this, but if you enjoy explosions and switching off your brain for a bit for some comedy and a bit of gore, this could be a good time water for you.